Chelsea F.C.–Tottenham Hotspur F.C. rivalry


The Chelsea F.C.–Tottenham Hotspur F.C. rivalry, also known as the North West London derby, is a rivalry between London-based professional association football clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea play their home games at Stamford Bridge, while Tottenham Hotspur play their home games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Background

While Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur never considered each other primary rivals, there has always been strong needle between the fans dating back to the 1967 FA Cup Final. Matches between the two teams would often attract large attendances and would sometimes end up in violent clashes between supporters.
A 2012 survey has shown that Chelsea fans consider Tottenham to be their main rival, above Arsenal and Manchester United. In the same survey, it's shown that Tottenham fans still consider Chelsea their second rival, below Arsenal.

History

The first league meeting between the two teams took place on 18 December 1909 at Stamford Bridge as Tottenham only joined the Football League in 1908 and won promotion to the Football League First Division in 1909. The match was won by Chelsea 2–1. Both teams however struggled in the 1909–10 season, and they met again at White Hart Lane on 30 April 1910 in the final match of season, with both fighting for survival in Division One. Spurs beat Chelsea 2–1, sending Chelsea down, with the winning goal scored by a former Chelsea player Percy Humphreys.
However, the rivalry itself dates back to the 1967 FA Cup final, which was the competition's first final to be contested between two teams from London, and is thus often dubbed the Cockney Cup Final. Tottenham won it 2–1. For Chelsea fans, it was a major blow to see two of their former players, Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables, win the FA Cup with Tottenham.
The rivalry was further stoked during the 1974–75 season, one in which Tottenham and Chelsea fought out a bitter battle against relegation from the First Division. Before the direct match, Tottenham were in the relegation zone and Chelsea were one point ahead of them. The tension of the match led to fans invading and fighting on the pitch before the game started. After a delayed start, Tottenham won the game 2–0. Then, Chelsea could not win either of their remaining two games and were ultimately relegated from the First Division with Tottenham staying up via a solitary point.
Since the 1990s, Chelsea become dominant in the meetings with Tottenham, remaining unbeaten by their rivals for over a decade, culminating in a 6–1 win at White Hart Lane in the 1997–98 season.
On 5 November 2006, Tottenham beat Chelsea 2–1 on White Hart Lane, ending a 16-year period without victory against the Blues in the league. Spurs did, however, beat Chelsea in 2002 during a 5–1 win in the second leg of the league cup after a 2–0 defeat at Stamford Bridge, resulting in an aggregate score of 6–3.
On 11 March 2007, Chelsea and Tottenham met in the FA Cup quarter-finals, with Chelsea coming to 3–3 down from 1–3 and earning a replay. The next day, hooligans of Tottenham and Chelsea clashed in the streets of London, a fight in which 10 fans were knifed. Chelsea eventually won the replay by 2–1, progressing in the semi-finals. In the next season, the two sides have met in the 2008 Football League Cup Final, with Tottenham winning the trophy after a 2–1 victory.
On 1 March 2015, Chelsea won the 2015 Football League Cup Final 2–0 against Tottenham, with goals provided by John Terry and Diego Costa. After the match, fans clashed on the Underground. After this final, Chelsea surpassed Tottenham in number of trophies won.
On 2 May 2016, Chelsea and Tottenham met at Stamford Bridge in an ill-tempered match that some would later call the 'Battle of Stamford Bridge'. The first two goals were scored by Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. In the second half, Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard scored the two goals for Chelsea. It ended as a 2–2 draw which automatically gave Leicester City their first ever Premier League title. This was arguably the closest Tottenham had ever come to winning the league since their last title in 1961 and since their last third-place finish in 1990. This match re-ignited the rivalry between the two clubs as players attacked each other on the pitch, resulting in nine yellow cards for Tottenham, another three for Chelsea, and a player Mousa Dembélé banned for violent conduct for six matches. As a result, both clubs had to face three FA charges and they were fined for failing to control their players.
On 4 January 2017, Tottenham beat Chelsea 2–0 at White Hart Lane, ending Chelsea's record 13 game winning streak in the Premier League. It brought Tottenham to within five points of Chelsea, who were leading the Premier League. Tottenham and Chelsea then went on to be the two title rivals in what was a two-horse race for the title, in which Chelsea eventually prevailed with 93 points to Tottenham's 86 points. Tottenham also lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final 4–2 in the same season.
On 20 August 2017, Tottenham and Chelsea contested in the second round of the 2017–18 Premier League, with Tottenham playing their first-ever home Premier League match at the Wembley Stadium. Chelsea won the match 2–1 with two goals scored by Marcos Alonso, ending Tottenham's 19-game home Premier League unbeaten run. In the same season on 1 April 2018, Tottenham won away to Chelsea 3–1, with goals from Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen. This was Tottenham's first win in 28 years at Stamford Bridge.
On 22 December 2019, the teams played their first match at Tottenham's new stadium. The match, which Chelsea won 2–0 with a brace by Willian, received wide media coverage due to alleged racist behaviour by Tottenham fans, aimed at Chelsea's defender Antonio Rüdiger. A Chelsea supporter was also arrested for alleged racist abuse against Spurs player Son Heung-min, who was sent off for kicking Rüdiger after he fouled Son. It led to a call for government action on racism in football. However, no evidence of racist abuse against Rüdiger was found after a police investigation.

Honours

Highest attendances